This week, sport and physical activity professionals across the UK can earn a professional status for the great work that they do.
Introduced by the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA), professional status is now available for those working in the sector.
Current full CIMSPA members who meet the requirements for their occupation set out in the sector’s professional standards will be automatically issued with a professional status. All professionals, including practitioners, managers and leaders working in the sector have the opportunity to apply for the new credential.
Throughout this week, those members will receive an email containing information about their issued status, or how to earn a professional status, and how to access the new online dashboard. Applications are also now open for individuals to apply for professional status.
As the UK’s chartered professional body for sport and physical activity, CIMSPA is formally permitted to grant professional status to the sport and physical activity sector through the royal charter.
Those issued with a professional status will gain a clear, defined title, postnominal letters and digital assets to showcase their credentials, in order to assure other professionals, employers, sectors and the general public that they are skilled, competent and trustworthy.
Holding a professional status is a way to show the world that you are a trained and highly skilled professional in your chosen career. They align to the sector’s professional standards, and indicate the level of expertise and experience that you have.
A professional status must be maintained through learning and skills development.
Tara Dillon FCIMSPA (Chartered), CEO of CIMSPA said:
“Our sector workforce have been asking to be formally recognised as professionals. Introducing professional status is a significant step in achieving that.
“Sport and physical activity professionals – this is for you. We have spent a long time listening, and now we are acting. This is your tool to really show how talented and dedicated you are to this sector, allied sectors and to the communities that you serve.
“For those who are thinking of working with a sport and physical activity professional, this status is a mark of trust. Trust that our sector workforce are skilled and competent to support the health and wellbeing challenges that we face as a nation.
“As our sector evolves and building trust with other sectors, such as our colleagues in healthcare, becomes more important than ever, your professional status will be a key that unlocks professional recognition for not just yourself, but for sport and physical activity as a whole.”